Septembeb 22, 1004. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



853 



Laelia Elegans is One of the Most Useful of Florists' Cut Flower Orchids. 



and now carry nice stocks of it. Our 

 illustration was kindly furnished by 

 Lager & Hurrell, Summit, N. J., who 

 were fortunate enough to secure a large 

 importation in 1903, and the cut shows 

 that they are cultivating it very suc- 

 cessfully. W. N. Oraio. 



y ^etable Forcing. 



CUCUMBERS. 



Potting On and Planting. 



Supplementary to my former notes re- 

 garding the planting of cucumber seeds, 

 I would recommend that as soon as the 

 plants are well up and have taken a good 

 hold of the soil, if the pots contain more 

 than one plant the poorest ones should be 

 pulled out and the strongest one left. 

 As they are fast growing it will ' not 

 take long before the pots will be well 

 filled with roots and a shift into a larger 

 size will be of benefit, as it is necessary 

 that the plants be kept growing freely. 

 If there is a likelihood of any delay in 

 planting and a danger of the plants get- 

 ting pot-bound, I would prefer to move 

 them up two sizes at once (into 5-inch 

 pots) rather than have to move them a 

 second time, as the roots are soft and 

 easily injured. An open, turfy compost 

 should be used for potting, a close, re- 

 tentive soil being unsuitable for cucum- 

 bers at any stage of their growth. They 

 should be kept in a good light situation 

 to avert drawing. 



Though some large and successful 

 growers plant their cucumbers in solid 

 beds, or in the soil that forms the floor 

 of the house, I prefer benches, especially 

 for winter crops, as here the soil can be 

 kept a few degrees warmer and the roots 

 are better under control. Besides, the 

 plants are better up to the light and to 

 keep the foliage strong ana firm in 



texture all the light procurable is needed. 

 A mistake is often made in giving cu- 

 cumbers too much soil in their perma- 

 nent quarters. I well remember the first 

 crop of cucumbers I ever planted. It 

 was in the spring and in a bench from 

 which carnation plants had been re- 

 moved. We forked up the soil in the 

 bench and worked in a liberal dressing 

 of well rotted manure. The plants soon 

 got a hold and when they got down to 

 business the growth was so luxuriant 

 that it took quite some work to keep 

 them trained in shape. But the principal 

 trouble we had to contend with was the 

 setting of the fruit. It was not until the 

 trellis was covered with growth and the 

 bench jpretty weJl filled with roots that 

 the fruit began to set freely. On visit- 

 ing a neighbor I found that he had the 

 roots of his plants confined into a space 

 about a foot wide and eight inches deep, 

 by means of boards which formed a box 

 running the length of the house, conse- 

 quently from plants set about the same 

 time as my own he had cucumbers ready 

 for market before I had procured a de- 

 cent set. Since then experience has 

 taught us to confine the roots to a more 

 limited space. The box idea is a good 

 one. A good size is fourteen inches wide 

 and eight inches deep. This should be 

 but partly filled at planting, more soil 

 being added as the plants require it. Or 

 the plants may be set in hills, using only 

 a shovelful or two of soil to start with 

 and adding more as the roots appear on 

 the outside of the compost. Where rot- 

 ting at the neck is troublesome the lat- 

 ter is the better method, as it insures 

 against any water lodging around the 

 neck of the plant. A rough, turfy com- 

 post should be used and about three feet 

 apart is the best distance to set the 

 plants. W. S. Ceoydon. 



PREPARING COMPOST. 



Though it will be some time before 

 the work of filling the benches in the 



vegetable houses will begin, the present 

 is a good time to have the compost at- 

 tended to. Mbst growers will have had 

 the material piled up since spring, or 

 probably since last fall, but some may 

 be so unfortunate as to not have it com- 

 posted even now. To any such belated 

 ones I would say, get it together without 

 delay. The only way that lost time can 

 partly be made up for is by chopping 

 the material up finely and turning it fre- 

 quently, so as to get the different in- 

 gredients thoroughly incorporated. Only 

 thoroughly rotted manure should now be 

 used for the compost, as there is not 

 time enough for chemical action to re- 

 duce the excess of organic substances. 



Given a fairly good soil, I do not ad- 

 vocate the use of bone or other commer- 

 cial fertilizer in the compost to be used 

 in the vegetable forcing houses, even if 

 the compost has been prepared months 

 ahead, but in the case of delay, where the 

 compost has to be mixed only a short 

 time before it is to be used, my advice 

 would be, by all means cut it out alto- 

 gether. Good farmyard manure I have 

 found to be the best for mixing in the 

 general compost. Some subjects, such 

 as tomatoes, cucumbers and cauliflower, 

 might be benefited by the application of 

 a little bone meal to the soil, but, if the 

 soil is fairly good, the farmyard article 

 is sufficient to promote a good healthy 

 growth, and when the maturing stage 

 arrives, when a stimulant is found neces- 

 sary, it can very conveniently be ap- 

 plied in the form of liquid manure. 



Where the compost haa been prepared 

 for some time the present is a good time 

 to have it turned over and well chopped 

 up, so that all the ingredients will be 

 thoroughly mixed. Then it will be in 

 readiness for filling the benches when the 

 time comes. It is poor policy to leave 

 the soil unturned until you are ready to 

 fill the benches, as the soil will settle 

 and be beaten hard with rains. This 

 hardening naturally restricts the passage 

 of air through the soil and loosening is 



